The palace is not heavily guarded, but it is well known to be difficult to enter. Apart from relatives and friends, the Regent and the Princess rarely see outsiders. But today there is a lot of traffic in front of the palace.
Princess Hele, who was personally appointed by the Emperor, will marry far away tomorrow. Due to her special circumstances, today is the day to receive her gift box.
Hua Zhi checked the dowry again and made sure nothing was missing before she patted Shaoyao, who had been clinging to her side with her mind wandering off. "Wu Yong was afraid that you would run away at the last minute, so he climbed over the palace wall for several nights in a row. Don't come and say you don't want to get married on the big day."
Peony blinked and climbed over the wall
"He was beaten down by the security guards." Hua Zhi's expression was a little hard to describe. Shaoyao was unreliable enough, and Wu Yong didn't look presentable either. If these two people lived together... She didn't dare to imagine what their life would be like.
The eldest sister is like a mother, and the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. Hua Zhi, who has been playing the role of a mother in the past few years, feels that she is really worried. She sighed, motioned for others to leave, and helped the person sit up straight. "If you really don't want to get married, it's not too late to regret it now."
Shaoyao fell back on Huahua's shoulder like a boneless person and didn't say anything for a while.
Not willing? No, she just didn't want to leave home and the two people closest to her, but she was reluctant to say she was willing. She was afraid that everything would be different after getting married. She had seen and understood what it felt like to be helpless over the years.
Hua Zhi patted her gently, and leaned against her head and said, "Do you know why I never made things difficult for Wu Yong?"
"You think he's good."
"I think there are many good people, but he is the only one I am willing to marry you to." Hua Zhi touched her face, "When he wanted to marry you, he didn't know that your face had healed. Under such circumstances, he was still willing to marry you. It shows that he likes you as a person, so much so that he can ignore your ruined appearance. Such men are rare, and I don't want you to miss him after finally meeting him."
Hua Zhi smiled, so gently that Shaoyao's eyes became hot. "You have a wild nature. Not to mention marrying into a family in the capital, I feel constrained even in this palace. But Yinshan Pass is different. Now the grassland tribes are seriously injured. It will take thirty to fifty years to recover if they are driven to the depths of the grassland. The vast grassland outside the pass is where you can roam freely. You can go wild. No one can restrain you there. Yan Xi, I, and even the emperor are your support. You just need to live the life you want. Whether to bring Wu Yong with you depends on your mood. Think about it, do you have some expectations for such a life?"
Shaoyao pursed her lips and hugged Huahua's arm more affectionately. She was looking forward to it, but also reluctant to leave. She was reluctant to leave this place where she had lived for many years, but only in the past few months did she feel that this was her home. She was also reluctant to leave her sister-in-law who took care of everything for her and made her worry-free.
But, you still have to get married.
"I won't run."
"Then I'll have someone tell Wu Yong to stop climbing over the wall tonight." Hua Zhi pulled him up. "I need to go entertain the guests. You go and talk to grandma. I'm afraid she'll be reluctant to leave."
After coaxing the person away, Hua Zhi opened her hands and let the maid help her put on her clothes. "What's the situation?"
"The prince is guarding the front yard himself, so no one dares to send expensive gifts." Yingchun squatted down to tidy up her skirt and replied, "Don't worry about the women. Madam Lu is very capable."
Because Shaoyao grew up in the princess's care, like her own daughter, and later followed her eldest brother, on a day like today, Hua Zhi invited the elders of the Lu family to come and help entertain the guests, which was reasonable and acceptable.
There was laughter and conversation in the flower hall, and the air was filled with fragrance, but everyone was paying attention to the movement at the door. When the curtain was opened, everyone looked over, and when they saw that it was the person they were waiting for, they quickly stood up and greeted him.
"No need to be so polite." Hua Zhi took a few quick steps to help her mother up, and then helped up several other ladies who were close to her.
Madam Lu covered her mouth and laughed, "You don't have to ask me this question again. I will ask for everyone, does the princess plan to accept a few more disciples?"
Hua Zhi raised her eyebrows. There are quite a lot of people who have this idea recently. Being a disciple of the emperor is indeed a great honor. One is naturally closer to the emperor than other people. It is no wonder that others have this idea.
Unfortunately, "I don't plan to accept any more disciples."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. They had expected that the Grand Tutor might refuse, but they had not expected him to refuse so bluntly. Life was still so long? Was he really not going to accept anyone
"Your Majesty, it goes without saying that doing your best is your duty. My little disciple is also very intelligent. I still need the help of my grandfather to teach him. How can I take in another disciple and be distracted?"
Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, everyone agreed at this moment. No matter what, it was better to not confiscate any of them than to confiscate any of them and disrupt the balance. I'm afraid that a smart person like the princess would have seen through this point long ago.
They were all people who came to add to the beauties, and each family had their own reasons for visiting the family, so Hua Zhi responded to them all with a smile. Everyone was tactful and sat for a while before saying goodbye and leaving. Even the Hua family only left the eldest lady.
Zhu touched her daughter's thin arm and didn't have much else to say. Although they didn't see each other every day, they visited each other from time to time. She knew best how the other was doing. She was worried, but she couldn't say it out loud.
"You really won't change your mind?"
It was really no surprise. Hua Zhi smiled and shook her head, "We are leaving tomorrow, how can we change it?"
Zhu glared at her and said, "You have finally recovered from your illness, why did you make this trip? There is no reason for a sister-in-law to travel thousands of miles to see her off."
"I am her friend first, and then her sister-in-law. A friend hopes that she will be happy, but as a sister-in-law, I need to make sure that she can be happy." Hua Zhi helped her mother leave the hall and walked towards the back house. "She is marrying far away in the north, and I will definitely live in the capital in the future. What I can do is to lay a good foundation for her from the very beginning, so that she has no worries as much as possible, and she has the confidence to not compromise no matter what situation she encounters. And all of this needs to be arranged by me personally. Only after I see it with my own eyes can I know what is going on."
"Other people can't do the same as you when marrying off their daughters." Zhu muttered, but didn't say anything else. She knew her daughter had the right idea and the matter had been decided and could not be changed. However, in her heart, no matter how close Shaoyao was to the Hua family, she could not compare to her daughter. She was short-sighted and just wanted her daughter to take good care of herself and give birth to a child as soon as possible. As for other things, she didn't want to think too much.
"Do you really want to take Berlin with you?"
"If I hadn't taken him there, he would have carried the emperor's order, so even I would have had to retreat." Hua Zhi smiled, "This is also good, let him see where his father was exiled. Even if he didn't suffer that, at least he should know what it was like."
Zhu sighed deeply and finally said no more. "That's all. With the prince going with her, there's no need to rush like before. She won't have to endure any hardship. Why did she say so much?"